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Tiamat
Tiamat Tiamat (tee-a-maht, a greedy, vain and arrogant goddess, embodies all the strengths (but very few weaknesses) of her chromatic progeny. Her sole focus is on the gain of personal power and wealth, and she views mortals merely as hapless pawns in her conflicts with other deities. When needed, she can be a charming and fey deity, but for those who look closer, her self-serving, evil, reptilian nature is quite obvious. All evil dragons pay homage to Tiamat; green and blue dragons acknowledge her sovereignty the most readily. Good dragons have a healthy respect for Tiamat, though they usually avoid mentioning her or even thinking about her. Personality As pointed out above, Tiamat is greedy, vain, and arrogant. She is also hateful, spiteful, and unforgiving. Her focus was always to obtain more power and wealth. Once she experienced partial mortality however, she became less reckless, but also paranoid. Tiamat also greatly enjoys the company of male dragons, having many great wyrm consorts of many chromatic varieties. Tiamat greatly prefers having riches brought to her by followers as opposed to searching for riches of her own. Relationships Tiamat is the antithesis of her brother Bahamut, both of them representing directly opposing values, and this enmity was reflected in the attitude of each deity's worshippers as well. Tiamat holds a great disdain for any deities who possess even a slight advantage over her in power. Tiamat claims not to need allies, though most believe she has bargains with many archdevils and evil deities. Her enemies are numerous, of course. Avatar Draconic Avatar That of a unique chromatic dragon, one who had one head for each primary color of the most common species of chromatic dragons. Each head is able to operate entirely independently of each other and has the powers of a member of the respective race of dragon. The body of the avatar shared traits with that of a wyvern, including a long tail tipped with a poisonous stinger. The Dark Lady A bronze skinned female with long dark hair and pitch black eyes. She always wears dark robes and frequently a seductive smile on her face with devious intention. Followers & Organizations Tiamat has a reputation amongst most people of Malero for battling with the other members of both her pantheon and other pantheons and is blamed for many setbacks that kingdoms and empires around the world have suffered. This has caused her to become the main deity for many movements of rebellion and revolution, as well as terror. Many evil dragons worship Tiamat as its believed that all evil dragons are her 'children'. Kobolds also believe she is their sole creator and worship her as such. Among dragonborn she is revered as a god of great power, rivaled only by her brother. Organization Like Bahamut, Tiamat has few clerics and even fewer temples. She accepts only evil clerics. Tiamat’s clerics, like Tiamat herself, seek to place the world under the domination of chromatic dragons. Though most chromatic dragons honor Tiamat, few keep shrines dedicated to her in their lairs because they don’t want Tiamat’s greedy eyes gazing at their treasure hoards. Instead, they dedicate vast, gloomy caverns to their deity and keep them stocked with treasure and sacrifices. The church of Tiamat is regimented by a strict hierarchy of ranks and titles. Her clerics occupy the twin tasks of acquiring an ever-increasing hoard of wealth for the faith and for sabotaging the faiths of other deities. As a result, they occupy most of their time with unending thefts, assassinations, and general vandalism and arson attacks on other faiths. In North Auros, the church is in serious contention for power over the northwestern part of the continent. Day-to-Day Activities of the Clergy Clerics of Tiamat pray for their spells at dusk, a ritual known as the Tithing, in hopes that the sun will be returned each morning. The Tithing, as the name suggests, requires a small tithe (or sacrifice) on the part of the cleric praying. These sacrifices are typically several gold coins or a small gem, which are hidden within the cleric's cupped hands as prayers are offered. The offering is then burned. Tiamat's clergy also perform numerous other ceremonies and daily rites in homage to their goddess. The Rite of Respect is a complicated ritual, requiring abasement and appeasement that must be performed while approaching any of the Dark Lady's spawn (true dragons). The ceremony itself does not provide any ritualistic protection from the dragon's fury. However, failure to precisely perform this ceremony is sure to draw the great reptile's ire. Dogma Tiamat concerns herself with spreading evil, defeating good, and própagating evil dragons. She enjoys razing the occasional village, city, or country, but only as a diversion from more subtle,world-spanning plots. She is the villain who lurks in the shadows. Her presence is felt, but seldom seen. "Tiamat constantly seeks to extend the power and dominion of evil dragons over the land, particularly when her subjects find themselves embroiled in territorial disputes with good dragons. Tiamat unfailingly demands reverence, homage, and tribute from her subjects." Ceremonies/Holy Days * The Festival of Vengeance ** The day is marked by Tiamat's clergy and faithful followers instigating rioting, general anarchy, and widespread mayhem, and is punctuated by the consummation of long-simmering acts of revenge. During this time, clerics of the other pantheons work to control the looting and destruction. Prominent officials must beware of assassination attempts against them on this day, which are attempted and carried out by Tiamat's worshipers. Major Centers of Worship * Affiliated Orders * The Serpent Guards ** A fellowship of North Auronan warriors and paladins fanatically devoted to her and charged with assaulting the North Auronan Dwarven Lords keeps. * The Knights of the Five-Thorned Rose ** An elite group of paladins tasked with the destruction of Bahamut's followers, especially metallic dragons. Category:Deity Category:Lore Category:Deities